UH's New Vice President for Research

The University of Houston welcomes Dr. Amr Elnashai as the new Vice Chancellor and Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer.

A civil engineer by training and a native of Egypt, Dr. Elnashai received his undergraduate degree from Cairo University and his Ph.D. from Imperial College in London, where he then spent 16 years as a faculty member. A Fellow of the British Royal Academy of Engineering, Dr. Elnashai has been Dean of Engineering at Pennsylvania State University, where he holds the Harold and Inge Marcus Endowed Chair of Engineering. He also previously served as head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

As the new vice president, Dr. Elnashai will lead UH's research operations and the rapid development of its innovation ecosystem. UH is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university with annual research expenditures expected to top $160 million in 2016, an increase of 74 percent since 2011.

UH is also the top-ranked institution in the nation for licensing revenue among public universities without a medical school, exceeding $22 million in fiscal year 2015. The university has emerged as a leader in technology commercialization with concentration in advanced materials, energy, biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals and information technology. UH incubator and accelerator programs have fostered a strong entrepreneurial environment that supports new innovation and startup ventures.